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Thursday, October 24, 2013

Carrie is not really Scarrie (Movie Review)

Okay first of all this is probably going to be a long (and personal) post and may contain spoilers (be warned!) so if you haven't seen the movie (nor read the novel or saw the musical) then don't get spoiled here.

Unlike most horror films (I don't really watch that much horror because uhm, I can't, I just can't lol I'm so chicken), Carrie isn't exactly a horror film but more of a teen drama with a touch of supernatural and gore things. It's a remake of a 1970 novel of the same name by Stephen King and had been remaked into many movies and a musical, and this is the 2013 version.

Originally, I really didn't want to watch this because I was totally creeped out by the poster (unfortunately I have sensitive eyes to Bongcheon-Dong Ghost-like imagery, even medieval paintings and butterfly patterns count, yes, anything vibrantly creepy for me lol) but then I read from a Facebook link that my bf gave me that Carrie was a musical about bullying and over-zealous religiousness. I Googled it up and found about the novel, and yada-yada, the things I said above.

And then, I got curious - I bet her story is going to be like mine.

Yeah, as I mentioned in some of my previous posts, I was a victim of (somewhat) bullying since I was a kid, just because I cry too easily and didn't have much friends (I was an only child back then, kind of overprotected but not too much, and didn't have much neighbors my age), so all the best friends I try to have just drift away, either because they lose interest in me or I feel like they don't understand me at all (or they just get separated to another school). I've always had bad luck on my side like Carrie back then, and even more that I was an honor student (Valedictorian since 1st grade up to 10th grade / 4th year high school). And just like her, I was somewhat special in a weird way (e.g. my interests are different from theirs like drawing, arts, music, anime, imagining characters, etc.) and they were all like, normal women who just do make-ups and flirt around with boys, and so forth. A lot of times, I've always wanted to take revenge on them but of course I wasn't that much angry at them yet, until probably in college when I've realized what they did was wrong (and disgraceful). Here's one unforgettable instance.

I was just going to the comfort room with my best friend (a girl who's probably working as a teacher right now) and then when I came back, all the chairs were moved to the corners and sides of the room, generally making a square around MY SEAT (and my friend's seat). You know, that really meant a lot to me, and it's a good thing that our subject teacher saw what happened and gave them some good old lecturing (coz othewise I would've ended up like Carrie literally lol). So our teacher told them, "what did Kristel ever do to you?" (in Filipino of course) which is exactly the same words I heard from the movie, "what did Carrie ever do to you?" said by Sue, and later Chris (the one who was responsible for bullying Carrie in the first place, Sue sort of felt sorry for Carrie anyway).

Anyways, back to the movie, I really felt Carrie's sorrow and at the same time, liked the fact that she chose to fight rather than keep everything inside her, because after all, every one of us have limits, no matter how much strength we think we have. All of us experience pain and suffering, and Carrie was just a confused girl trying to find herself, just like me back then. With all of those painful memories haunting me, I felt like I wanted to take it out on everyone but I don't really want to do that because I don't want anyone to get hurt. In my dreams I often dream of screaming and shouting and throwing things, sometimes actually killing people, even before I knew about Carrie in the first place, even when I was still on the job at Laguna or even during college, I was suffering those nightmares, both in dreams and when awake.

Added to that, there were a lot of elements in the movie that are (coincidentally) similar to some of my real-life things. And for those, here's my message: I forgive things, but I never forget.

Another thing that's really great about the movie is that when people are killed brutally, you would actually feel great rather than feel sorry for them (in my case, that is, since I'm a lot like Carrie, or at least I used to be). I especially liked the scene where Carrie goes eye-to-eye with a death stare to Chris when she was going to kill her in the car, that moment I was like "yeah kill that ---" ahh, you know what I mean. That was the part of the movie that really raised my heart and felt like I was Carrie myself murdering people lol. But it felt great, kind of stress-relieving. (okay sorry my sadist side there XD)

If you've ever watched the movie Matilda then you would probably say, "OMG Carrie is like Matilda" and yep, that's exactly what I said when I first learned that Carrie has telekinesis hahaha. Although, Matilda is a little girl - a genius girl whose knowledge and curiosity gives her powers, not to mention she also has that one teacher who stayed at her side, like Carrie (and me lol).

So anyways, this review (idk what it is) is really getting long now I'd have to end it with my conclusions. Overall, Carrie is great. It's not really "scarrie" like I thought it would be but more of a stress-reliever much like Watamote! and similar stories. It's a great eye-opener for teens to never be afraid of bullies and don't let them push you around, and it's also for parents to raise their children much more responsibly and not keep them away from the evils of the world, which they will eventually encounter, but still protect them of course (though not too much). Despite that part of her over-zealous religious mom, I like the fact that Carrie still forgave her since, after all, a mother is still a mother no matter how much evil she's done to you (same with fathers and other parental or family figures). For those who are like Carrie (and me), If you think you're laughed at because your special, think again. Don't try to be normal just because it's what's "universally accepted", rather, be yourself and don't let others push you around. Sometimes, people like those need to be taught a lesson, but in the end, there should still be forgiveness.

And as for those who kept bullying people, whether physically, mentally or emotionally, no matter how much light or grave it is, here's a quote for you from the movie: